Week 6 Clear Application Software 1

http://www.wetakethecake.com/9-strawberry-layer-cake.html

Finally! We have covered a topic that I get 100%!

 This week we covered Application Software and I feel Mr. Olsen's layered cake analogy was the concept that really brought it home for me. It allowed me to visualize how the user, application, operating system, and hardware were individual parts coming together to create a whole. It is easy to view the whole cake as one, but once it has been sliced for consumption you see the different sections within.

http://facultyweb.cortland.edu/connellm/cap100web/Unit4/Unit_4.htm

One area here that I didn't know anything about was the Application Programming Interface, also known as the API. This is the mechanism that allows the user, the applications, the operating system, and the hardware to communicate with each other. What I found most interesting was that each layer does not need to know what the other layer is doing. The API is in control of when and if another layer needs to be involved.


Other information covered in this week's lesson involved many different issues that a business owner and/or manager will need to know. Issues like the various types of licensing required, knowing the difference between desktop and enterprise software, knowing the various types of enterprise software, and the various programming languages.

I feel the most important issue discussed this week was the issue of the costs involved when considering software. Obviously the price tag is a cost to consider. However, there are many other costs involved. The expenses that a business needs to take into account are the Total Costs of Ownership (TCO). These costs are mostly incurred post purchase, but they need to be investigated and addressed prior to purchase since it determines whether you should switch and what software is appropriate. TCO involves things like switching costs, training, technical support, compliance issues, and security. Opportunity costs are also associated with these other costs. These costs are ones incurred while focusing on one area and neglecting another area. In my view, these are pivotal costs since it usually means the area your neglecting is a core area for your business.

http://lessonslearnedteacher.blogspot.com/2010/10/profile-democrats-for-education-reform.html

There is an old saying in the business world, "cash is king". There is also a current saying given to us by the hip hop group Wu Tang Clan in the form of the acronym C.R.E.A.M. It stands for Cash Rules Everything Around Me. No matter how you say it, it is necessary to have a handle on your cash and making poor decisions in the area of computer software will severely limit your ability to sustain your business for very long.

So....until next week, remember, "Dolla Dolla Bill Y'all!"